During David Suzuki’s Q&A on Australian ABC-TV, and WUWT regular Bill Koutalianos puts the fruit fly guy on the spot. Video of the interview follows. Andrew Bolt writes:
David Suzuki proves he’s pig ignorant about global warming
The very first question put to David Suzuki on Q&A last night revealed this warming alarmist’s complete ignorance of the most basic facts of global warming.
Fancy Suzuki not even knowing what the world’s main temperature data sets say about global temperatures. Fancy him not even knowing what those data sets are, even when he is given their names.
The only rational response to Suzuki’s astonishing admission of utter ignorance would have been to say to him: “Sir, you are a phony and imposter. Get off the stage and don’t waste our time for a second longer.”
Read the exchange for yourself:
BILL KOUTALIANOS: Oh, hi. Since 1998 global temperatures have been relatively flat, yet many man-made global warming advocates refuse to acknowledge this simple fact. Has man-made global warming become a new religion in itself?
TONY JONES: David, go ahead.
DAVID SUZUKI: Yeah, well, I don’t know why you’re saying that. The ten hottest years on record, as I understand it, have been in this century. In fact, the warming continues. It may have slowed down but the warming continues and everybody is anticipating some kind of revelation in the next IPCC reports that are saying we got it wrong. As far as I understand, we haven’t. So where are you getting your information? I’m not a climatologist. I wait for the climatologists to tell us what they’re thinking.
TONY JONES: Do you want to respond to that, Bill?
BILL KOUTALIANOS: Sure, yeah. UAH, RSS, HadCRUT, GISS data shows a 17-year flat trend which suggests there may be something wrong with the Co2 warming theory?
DAVID SUZUKI: Sorry, yeah, what is the reference? I don’t…
BILL KOUTALIANOS: Well, they’re the main data sets that IPCC use: UAH, University of Alabama, Huntsville; GISS, Goddard Institute of Science; HadCRUT. I don’t know what that stands for, HadCRUT; and RSS, Remote Sensing something. So those data sets suggest a 17-year flat trend, which suggests there may be a problem with the Co2.
DAVID SUZUKI: No, well, there may be a climate sceptic down in Huntsville, Alabama, who has taken the data and come to that conclusion. I say, let’s wait for the IPCC report to come out and see what the vast bulk of scientists who have been involved in gathering this information will tell us.
See those data sets here.
Like I say, a complete know-nothing, citing false claims:
STEWART FRANKS: In an opinion piece last week you wrote that the Great Barrier Reef was threatened by the increasing frequency of cyclones. Everyone watching and listening can onto the Bureau of Meteorology’s website and see that there is no increase. In fact there has been a decline over the last 40 years and no increase in the severity. Are you not, by exaggerating…
DAVID SUZUKI: That I have to admit…
STEWART FRANKS: …or even just getting wrong, are you not actually vulnerable of actually undermining your very own aim in that, you know, the Great Barrier Reef does have environmental threat, but cyclones ain’t one of them?
DAVID SUZUKI: All right. That was one, I have to admit, that that was suggested to me by an Australian, and it is true, I mean, it may be a mistake. I don’t know.
Nor does David Suzuki know what the hell he’s on about when he’s fear-mongering about genetically modified crops:
DAVID SUZUKI: Well, I mean, that is always the argument that’s made. GMOs are very, very expensive. Now, the people that need this food are not going to be able to afford it. Are we going to just create these new crops and then give them away? I simply don’t believe that’s what’s going to happen. I don’t think it is a generosity for the rest of humanity that is driving this activity.
RICK ROUSH: Actually, we are. I mean, Bt corn technology has been given away to the Kenyan State Government research people for use for subsistence farmers. Monsanto gave away insect resistant potatoes in Mexico over 20 years ago. James is working on lots of similar cases. In cases where there is no economic return, it is, in fact, being given away and they’re not so difficult to develop. When I was at Cornell, we got a gene that was a gift from Monsanto for experimental purposes. We made broccoli plants that were resistant to attacks of Dimebag Moths. A student – one of our students made about 50 transformants in about six months. The great cost of these things are no longer the actual creation of the plant. It’s the regulatory challenges to take sure that you can take them to market, to do all that safety testing.
TONY JONES: Okay, Rick, well we’ll get a response to that and we’ll move on?
DAVID SUZUKI: Well, I don’t have any response. It sounds great. I don’t know.
How in God’s name could people take this man seriously?
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Kudos to Bill Koutalianos for asking a simple question. Simon at Australian Climate Madness has put the ABC video on YouTube:
Rob Potter says:
“Then he got some kind of god-complex and started spouting off on things he knew little about and refusing to be corrected by people who knew better.”
Climate Alarmism in a nutshell with one modification. People who knew better often remained quiet during decades of nonsense claims and papers. The real “sheeple” in my opinion is not the public who can surely be excused for lacking expertise but the scientific community for allowing this charade to continue and blosom to the degree it has. I realise few want to rock the boat but those who remained silent can now blame themselves for their credibility being torn to shreds by Suzuki and the other bad apples.
They are not very good – these global warm-mongers. How the hell have they been winning the argument for the last 25 years?
Also sad was the fact that, even though it’s obvious to us that Suzuki is a total fraud, he had quite a lot of support in the audience.
But now both the ABC and the BBC – and much of the main stream media – are starting to air our views. Maybe we’re at Churchill’s “…end of the beginning”…
Perhaps David Suzuki should read the paper more rather than wait for the climatologists for the latest climate news
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/climates-big-pr-problem/article14491748/
Let’s just hope he doesn’t write a smutty novel.
David Suzuki is seen as an heroic figure by followers of the Canadian mainstream media. He used to address the standard environmental issues (real and imagined) on the state owned CBC, and regular newspaper and magazine columns. A nice life, but that was before the global warming cash register started ringing, and he turned his left-wing celebrity status into gold. But of course, the Canadian mainstream media would never ask him any difficult questions.
They succeed in their message because people are herd animals. That is not to denigrate the human race. Humans instinctively seek safety in numbers and will follow the lead animal right over the cliff. Far tougher to veer away. And so history repeats. And repeats. And repeats.
The three professions most apt to lead nations over the cliff are religious leaders, politicians and scientists. Dangerously, in more than one climate scientist, we have all three professions rolled into one lead animal running us all towards a cliff.
Suzuki is suffering from a case of ‘argumentum ad populum.’ Now multiply the Suzuki’s of the world around the Warmishphere and we really are in trouble (not).
I lost all respect for Suzuki when, speaking to young students at McGill University, told them to try in their lives to find ways to ensure that elected members of government who did not adhere to Kyoto could be imprisoned.
This while, on an earlier interview he somehow revealed what he called ‘his dirty little secret’. That secret was that he owned a fossil burning pleasure boat, not a sailboat.
@Jimbo
The funniest thing is that in one case he uses the ‘argumentum ad populum’ to claim the veracity of his opinions on AGW; yet in the same show he does a complete back flip and claims that the dissenting voices are being hounded out of the debate in regards to GMO. ie In the field of genetics and GMO the majority is wrong.
There is an intellectual schizophrenia being displayed that is unsettling. I think it’s all too emblematic of the ideological debate going on. He like so many people on the left believes that only ‘corporations” can get together and use their influence to produce outcomes in the scientific community.
Susuki knows more than he let on but he is smart to distance himself from a sinking ship. He is first and foremost a TV actor with no special training in climate as he stated.If you attach your fund raising to a scam its not long before your credibility is gone and so is the money.
One could say that he doesn’t seem to know his AR5 from his elbow.
Jim Clarke says:
“I am starting to feel sorry for the warmists. Is there no one who can speak intelligently for the group? David Suzuki just made Al Gore look smart!”
I think if Al were caught in a Q&A with an interviewer who was well acquainted with the real data, he would fare about as well as David. The warmistas generally avoid direct debate because they know they have no facts to support them. The “skeptics” invite debate.
Of course Al would never admit that he was wrong if he was pinned down like this. He would just sidestep the question and spew more of his rhetoric.
Disgusting way to prey on the fears of children.
http://www.wherewillsantalive.ca/
So what if Monsanto develops a GM biofuel crop? What’s a moonbat to do?
Will he burn GM rice in his Suzuki?
My brother has a PHD in chemistry. He believes in AGW simply because he knows there is peered reviewed literature, IPCC and John Stewart backing it up. He’ll vehemently defend AGW to any sceptic he runs into without ever having looked into the subject himself. I honestly believe if he took the time to delve into the subject he would change his mind but I’m not holding my breath for him to take that step.
As far as the warmest decade ever meme goes: just ask them this one question in response: the last decade of my life was my tallest decade ever, does this mean I am still growing taller?
And if they continue to sprout that idiotic meme, double down and ask em if their grandmother is growing taller.
You see, the trick is to destroy a one sentence talking point with another one of equal length and make them look like the complete morons they are at the same time. It’s rather funny how quick something like that shuts them up for a bit too.
David in Canmore says:
“Climate Alarmism in a nutshell with one modification. People who knew better often remained quiet during decades of nonsense claims and papers. The real “sheeple” in my opinion is not the public who can surely be excused for lacking expertise but the scientific community for allowing this charade to continue and blosom to the degree it has. I realise few want to rock the boat but those who remained silent can now blame themselves for their credibility being torn to shreds by Suzuki and the other bad apples.”
Spot on. As a life scientist, what alarms me is the coming blowback for all fields of science from the nonsense perpetrated by these climate clowns and related “scientists” eager to use AGW as a lever to increase funding to study their own area. Most in my sphere are ardent defenders of AGW since they see skepticism of AGW as an attack on all science (and lump it with creationism, the primary area where life scientists feel attacked). They circle the wagons and defend their fellow scientists from the “science deniers” without questioning whether they might have a point or looking at the underlying data. It’s distressing to see such typically human tribal behavior… but not unexpected.
As a Canadian who has never been a fan of Suzuki, Karma’s a Bi+ch. Love it when the alarmist’s squirm. Hopefully now he will just go away.
After our experiences with Tim Flannery and the Climate Commission, we no longer have to take people like David Suzuki seriously. The television interview revealed his ignorance for all to see.
Early onset Alzheimer’s. I would call for a doctor……
Like so many other warmists, Suzuki probably knows nothing of the science. he probably doesn’t even read IPCCs Summary for Policy Makers. He reads the summary of the summary in some warmist-friendly newspaper, and at that point we are getting pretty far away from reality.
Rob Potter says:
September 25, 2013 at 6:52 am
I am quite truly saddened by his demise – as a geneticist I had a lot of respect for him doing my undergrad and PhD work in the 80′s.
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I’ve seen a video of Suzuki as a young man in full hippie regalia spouting some misanthropic malthusian gibberish.
Silver Ralph says:
September 25, 2013 at 4:00 pm
I’m not diagnosing Alzheimer’s. That would imply that at some time in the past, Suzuki knew what the UAH, GISS or Hadley Centre & Climate Research Unit were, but has now forgotten. I doubt he ever knew.
Justa Joe says:
September 25, 2013 at 6:40 pm
Besides DTS’ carbon footprint large as all outdoors, thanks to his jet-setting lifestyle, there’s the matter of those five kids:
http://nofrakkingconsensus.com/2010/10/13/david-suzukis-five-kids/
Still not in the Prince Albert class of hypocrisy, however.